Smokejumpers were called to a fire near a Kuskokwim homestead — then couldn't jump

A fire near a Kuskokwim homestead hit 50 acres, so Alaska scrambled its smokejumpers — who found the terrain too dangerous to jump. Back to plan B.

A wildfire burning near the Kuskokwim River grew fivefold in a matter of hours Sunday, closing in on an occupied homestead — and when fire managers called in smokejumpers, the crew took one look at the terrain and stood down.

The Nunsatuk Fire was estimated at 8 to 10 acres when crews first reached it early Sunday, about 24 miles north of Stony River. By the time smokejumpers arrived, it had spread to roughly 50 acres, smoldering, creeping, and torching through heavy spruce and hardwood. They had been called because the fire was edging toward an occupied homestead, with another structure several miles downriver. But after sizing up the difficult terrain, the crew decided it wasn't safe to jump. Managers are now weighing other ways to fight it. The cause is unknown.

The fire never had the response to itself. It's one of six burning across Southwest Alaska after a lightning storm rolled through over the solstice weekend, and the smokejumpers were tied up on higher-priority fires before they were ever sent to assess this one. With that many fires lit at once, the crews and aircraft to fight them are stretched thin — and Alaska's fire season is only beginning to ramp up.